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Essay On Offred Moira In The Handmaid's Tale

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Essay On Offred Moira In The Handmaid's Tale
“Whether this is my end or a new beginning I have no way of knowing” (Atwood 295). In Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale a young woman named Offred is trapped in a dystopian microcosm being forced to do the unthinkable. In the United States an outbreak of syphilis occurred causing many people to become infertile. The population is declining and the country is scared as a whole. Then, a group of extremists breaks into the congress building during a session and kill everyone inside; as well they kill the president and the vice president. A new group of people called Gileadians takes over and changes the country substantially. The fertile women are forced to sleep with Commanders who are fertile to produce “the right kind of” baby. Offred has been with two previous commanders and was unable to produce a child; everything changes when she meets this new commander. In Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale there are many orthodox characters, including …show more content…
People in the Republic of Gilead accused of being lesbian or gay are killed no matter what. “Since she’d decided to prefer women” (Atwood 172). Moira is a lesbian and she knows she has to conceal that from the rest of society. Once the country turned into Gilead, women of her age were required to go to school and learn how to be a proper handmaid. Moira did not want to live that life; she made her own path and knocked out an Aunt, stole her outfit, and ran away from the school. “I left that Aunt Elizabeth tied up like a Christmas turkey behind the furnace” (Atwood 244). Moira knew the consequences if she was caught trying to escape the country, but she tried anyways because she wanted to live life her way. Moira unfortunately gets caught at the Canadian border and is now forced to be a prostitute at a playboy mansion for Commanders. Just like Moira, Offred’s commander has been unorthodox in many ways as
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